No rest for the weary [DragonSong]

[Marjorie]

Raf smiled down at Val when she hung back and grabbed his hand. UNlike the other younger kids, Val was let to sit at the kitchen table beside her mother. There was so much food, and wine for the adults. Raf only had two glasses over the course of the evening. There was laughter and conversation and questions of how Ava and Rf met - to which Raf vaguely said 'wok.' Several hours later when all the kids had been fed, bathed, and sent off to bed... the house finally quieted down.

Val was tucked into bed with one of the younger girls, and blankets and pillows were brought down for Ava and Raf... Raf had volunteered to sleep on the floor and let Ava take the couch. After even Janesse had headed off to bed, it was just Ava, Raf and Griffin left up down stairs.

"So, what really brings you to my door?" Griffin asked once the house had quieted down.

"We need a place to lay low for a bit," Raf said, "I don't think there's a better place than Trenz to do that." It was remote, quiet, privet.

Griffin looked from Raf to Ava and back to Raf again. "What sort of trouble are you hiding from?"

"The problem is, we're not really sure," Raf said, "someone's after Val, but we're not sure who or why. I helped Ava get Val back, but those were just the middle men and we were too busy hightailing it off the planet to gather proper intel."

Griffin frowned thoughtfully. "Well, you're always welcome here. I'll be honest, I was hoping you were looking for work... I've got a group of refugees I just got papers for and they're looking for a ride off this rock."

[DragonSong]

Ava found herself rather blindsided by the hospitality shown toward them by this family that she, at least, hardly knew. It wasn't so much that the friendliness itself was unbelievable to her--many people in Reckless were much the same way to weary travelers, at least when it came to non-mages--but she seemed a little rattled that such attention was directed toward her and her daughter.

She made sure to tuck Val into bed with one of Janeese's younger children, assuring the girl that she would be much more comfortable sleeping in a real bed than on the couch with her mother.

Back in the living room, she set herself against the far side of the sofa and did her best to keep her eyes open as exhaustion began to drag at her bones. She'd avoided the wine at dinner, and the sedative had by now mostly worked its way through his system, but she was still dead tired.

She listened to Griffin and Raf speak, going a little tense instinctively, but forcing herself not to deflect. Not yet, at least.

"Are they headed somewhere specific?" she asked Griffin softly when he mentioned refugees. "Or just...not here?"

[Marjorie]

"A couple of them have family on the lunar station around Ramos," Griffin said, "So that's where they're heading, for now at least. If they want to go further than that they'll have to figure it out for themselves. We do what we can to help, but we're on a budget."

The papers were the hardest and most important, and most expensive part.

Raf looked looked at Ava. "You wanna take another trip? Ramos is two jumps from here. It'd take us two days to get there and back." He looked at Griffin then. "How may do you have... If we put sleeping bags in the cargo bay, Liss can only house about five extra." And that would be cramped... only about three or four people could even sit in the kitchen to eat... He had enough food and water on the ship now for eight for a day, but he'd have  to resupply again when he got back. 

[DragonSong]

Ava looked at him and shrugged with a small, tired smile. "It's your ship," she replied blithely. "Technically you could have washed your hands on us back on Edanith, if you really wanted to. We're just here out of the goodness of your heart now, Raf."


Val still thought they were going back to Reckless, eventually. Ava had too, until they'd seen 82641 in that tank. Now... Now she didn't know what to do. Where to go. And, by all rights, Raf really didn't have to take them anywhere, if he didn't want to.

She glanced away, expression a little distance and unfocused. "Maybe Val and I can find something on Ramos..."

Quite without her permission, the thought made her heart clench for a moment. She realized, with some surprise, that the feeling was...almost a disappointment at the thought of leaving Liss, of being on their own again.

[Marjorie]

"You'd need new papers first," which was realistically more like new files... identity chips, or etc. depending on where they wanted to stay. "We won't be able to swing that before we leave, at any rate."

Also, Raf didn't want them to leave... not now, not yet, maybe...

"I'd suggest a whole identity wipe and reinstatement." Or just not going.

[DragonSong]

"...Right."

Right, of course. That made sense. So why did her stomach clench uncomfortably when she heard it? Why didn't she...want to leave?

She shrugged and shook her head, trying to chase the thoughts from her mind. Stupid, wishful thinking. "Well, if we can't manage that before we leave here, we'll just have to do it somewhere else, I suppose," she murmured after a moment, then shot him a small, tired smile. "So I suppose you're stuck with us for a little longer, at least."